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Good Morning,

Google is cutting 100s of engineering jobs, large PE backers want their money back, Hertz is selling 1/3 of its EV fleet, JPM saw a record $30B of private debt change hands, Pixar is cutting jobs, inflation numbers came in hot in December, and Airbus jet order demand soared after Boeing’s latest incident.

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Let’s dive in.

Before The Bell

Markets

• US stocks remained relatively unchanged after the release of December's CPI report, which came in slightly higher than expected at 0.3% for the month and 3.4% annually

  • The Dow rose 0.04%, while the S&P fell 0.07% 

• European stocks fell due to hotter-than-expected US inflation data

Earnings

• What we're watching this week:  

  • Today: JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup, Wells Fargo, United Health, BlackRock, Delta Air Lines

• Full calendar here

Headline Roundup

• Google cuts hundreds of jobs across engineering, hardware teams (CNBC)

• Large backers of private equity are asking for their money back (BBG)

• After big Tesla bet, Hertz selling one-third of EV fleet (WSJ)

• US elections toss twist at markets fixated on Fed, economy (RT)

• US deficit tops half a trillion dollars in the first quarter of fiscal year (CNBC)

• JPM sees a record $30B private debt changing hands (BBG)

• Disney studio Pixar poised to cut jobs, numbers undecided (RT)

• Inflation edged up in December after rapid cooling most of 2023 (WSJ)

• Calstrs CIO who runs $318B pension is stepping down (BBG)

• UK recession risk lingers despite rebound in November GDP (BBG)

• CVS to close ‘select’ pharmacies in Target stores in the coming months (CNBC)

• Goldman Sachs traders get their swagger back in stocks (BBG)

• Apple’s Vision Pro headset could sell out quickly at launch, top analyst predicts (CNBC)

• Airbus shatters record for jet orders as demand soars (WSJ)

• Deutsche Bank sees strong dollar even as Fed cuts interest rates (BBG)

• Citigroup’s Jane Fraser embarks on another pivotal year of bank cuts (BBG)

• Iran seizes oil tanker linked to US sanctions dispute (WSJ)

• Argentina’s $16.1B in YPF fight is open to collection (BBG)

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Deal Flow

M&A / Investments

• Washington State is expected to file a lawsuit seeking to block Kroger’s proposed $24.6B takeover of Albertsons (BBG)

• The Biden administration is preparing to probe Japanese company Nippon Steel’s $14.1B acquisition of US Steel (WSJ) 

• PE firms Bain Capital and Hellman & Friedman are competing to acquire DocuSign, a provider of online signature services with a $12.5B market cap (RT) 

• Swiss drugmaker Novartis dropped its pursuit of late-stage cardiovascular treatment biotech firm Cytokinetics, which has an $8.3B market cap (RT) 

• Chesapeake Energy agreed to acquire rival Southwestern Energy in a ~$7.4B all-stock deal to create the largest natural gas producer in the US (BBG) 

• REIT LondonMetric Property agreed to acquire rival UK landlord LXI REIT in an all-stock deal valuing the company at $2.4B (BBG) 

• 7-Eleven will acquire 204 convenience stores in West Texas, New Mexico and Oklahoma from motor fuels distributor Sunoco for ~$1B (RT) 

• The largest shareholders in $1B French music services company Believe, who include CEO and founder Denis Ladegaillerie and US investment firm TCV, have been exploring taking it private (RT) 

• Grupo Mexico is among several firms considering bids to buy a Spanish copper mine from First Quantum Minerals that is seen be valued at less than $1B (BBG)  

• Thomson Reuters offered to acquire Swedish e-invoicing and tax solutions company Pagero for ~$627M (RT) 

• Italian financial services specialist DoValue is in preliminary talks to buy Elliott Management’s Gardant servicing unit (BBG) 

• Canada’s OPTrust is considering strategic options including a possible sale for its roughly 40% stake in Spanish infrastructure company Globalvia (BBG)

VC

• Picnic, a Dutch online supermarket, raised a $389M round led by Edeka, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust, and Dutch family businesses (FN)

• D-Orbit, a startup providing logistics services for companies operating satellites, raised a $110M Series C at a $500M valuation led by Marubeni Corporation (TC)

• Finn, a car subscription startup, raised a $109M Series C at a $658M valuation led by Planet First Partners (TC)

• Zip, an intake-to-pay platform, raised a $100M Series C at a $1.5B valuation led by Y Combinator, CRV, and Tiger Global (BW)

• Harbor Health, a primary and specialty clinic group, raised $95.5M in funding led by General Catalyst (PRN)

• Insurtech startup Hyperexponential raised a $73M Series B led by Battery Ventures (TC)

• Artisight, a smart hospital platform powered by AI, raised a $42M Series B from NVIDIA, Northwestern Medicine, and more (PRN)

• Cactos, a Helsinki-based battery energy storage systems startup, raised $29M in funding led by OP Finland Infrastructure LP and the Finnish Climate Fund (EU)

• Requity Homes, a property technology firm that aims to make homeownership more accessible, raised $26M in equity and debt financing led by Highline Beta and experienced tech executive and angel investor Sam Sun (BW)

• Low code platform FlutterFlow raised a $25.5M Series A at a $170M valuation led by GV, Gradient Ventures, Xoogler Ventures, and Y Combinator (TC)

• Neocis, a startup building a robot-assisted surgical platform for the dental industry, raised a $20M round from Mirae Asset Capital, Mirae Asset Venture Investment, and NVentures (VC)

• E-commerce returns management startup Sway raised a $19.5M Series A led by 7GC (TC)

• Rune Labs, a precision neurology software and data company, raised a $12M strategic round led by Nexus NeuroTech Ventures (BW)

• KlariVis, a startup building data analytics solutions for community banks and credit unions, raised an $11M Series B led by Blueprint Equity (BW)

• WaveBL, a digital trade document company, raised $11M in additional funding (FN)

• GolfForever, a startup offering an at-home golf training system, raised a $10M Series A led by Clerisy (BW)

• Renewable energy storage startup RedoxBlox raised an $8.9M Series A led by Khosla Ventures (BW)

IPO / Direct Listings / Issuances / Block Trades

• Circle Internet Financial, the issuer of the USDC stablecoin, confidentially filed for a US IPO; the company was previously valued at $9B in a 2022 deal to go public via a SPAC (RT) 

• Hellman & Friedman is weighing options for Enverus, including an IPO of the energy data platform that could value the business at $5B or more (BBG)

• Homebuilder Smith Douglas Homes notched a $1.2B valuation in its market debut after raising $161M (RT) 

• Almoosa Health Group, a Saudi Arabian healthcare provider, is planning a local IPO this year (BBG) 

Debt

• A JV between Turkish conglomerate Ronesans Holding and Algeria’s Sonatrach is seeking to raise $1.1B to build a petrochemical plant on the country’s Mediterranean coast; The International Development Finance Corp will provide a $550M loan (BBG) 

• German landlord Vonovia received $4.2B worth of orders for a $439M bond (BBG) 

• Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce is looking to sell $316M worth of performing and non-performing office loans (BBG)

Bankruptcy / Restructuring

• Careismatic Brands, a medical apparel company owned by PE firm Partners Group, engaged restructuring advisers to address financial challenges (WSJ) 

• South Korean distressed developer Taeyoung Engineering & Construction won support from creditors in a vote to start debt restructuring talks (BBG)

Fundraising

• Carlyle Group raised over $600M in a new fund to support the issuance of collateralized loan obligations in the US and Europe (BBG) 

• Israel’s Vintage Investment Partners, an Israel-based global capital platform, raised $200M to back growth-stage tech startups in Israel, the US, and Europe (BBG)

Crypto Corner

• Bitcoin ETF supporters see options trading as the next hurdle (BBG) 

• US Bitcoin ETFs saw $4.6B in volume on the first day of trading (RT) 

Exec’s Picks

• Gergely Orosz explained how a change to Section 174 of the US tax code will make it difficult for tech startups to hire engineering talent.

• Nick Maggiulli discussed whether or not your portfolio should be 100% US stocks.

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